Goldens in Golden

There's just something fun about the historical 2,000 to 3,000 mostly Golden Retrievers in one place, at one time, as they were Feb. 7, 2026 in Golden, Colorado, at the annual "Goldens in Golden" event. 

One estimate is that as many as 6,000 dogs attended this year, with perhaps 12,000 people. 

Lots of people are local, of course (from Colorado), but attendees come from all over the United States and apparently even some other countries. 

Some of the retrievers have their own social media accounts, so recorded the event using their own GoPros!

And there's the mandatory group shot. 

How Much Value Will Language Models Shift Away from Enterprise Software?

There’s a reason enterprise software has taken a beating in financial markets recently: nobody is sure how much value language models are going to destroy.

We are moving toward Generative UI, where the interface doesn't exist until you ask for it. If you need a specific chart, the LLM generates that specific chart in the chat window, for example. 

There are going to be lots of business model changes for enterprise and consumer software. 

Once the task is done, the interface disappears. This "ephemeral" UI is far more efficient than static dashboards, posing a direct threat to any software whose main value is "organizing data into screens."

Instead of static UI components, Generative UI introduces self-evolving interfaces that dynamically respond to user needs, much like how Generative AI models produce text, images, or code on demand, generating the application’s interface on the fly based on user intent.

By 2026, this technology is shifting the power dynamic from software vendors (who dictate workflows) to users.

Industry	Traditional Barrier	GenUI Disruption
Customer Relationship Management	Manual data management & "Tab Fatigue."	Outcome-based workspaces that appear only when needed.
Enterprise Resource Planning	Extreme complexity & high training costs.	Natural language translation of business data into simple "Action Cards."
Creative	Technical skill & "Steep Learning Curves."	Intent-driven canvases where the AI handles technical execution.

In a traditional CRM, sales reps spend up to 70 percent of their time navigating tabs, logging calls, and updating pipeline stages. GenUI replaces the static "account page" with an ephemeral workspace: just ask a question about a customer account. 

When a sales manager asks "which deals are at risk due to lack of executive engagement," GenUI doesn't just list them; it builds a temporary interface showing a side-by-side comparison of email sentiment, a "ghost" organizational chart of the client, and a pre-drafted calendar invite for a "check-in" meeting.

The concept of "searching for a record" disappears, as “the UI is the search.”

You talk to the CRM, and the specific fields you need to edit materialize in front of you, then vanish when the task is done.

ERPs have been difficult to navigate. GenUI democratizes the ERP by acting as a translator between complex business logic and human intent.

A procurement officer sees a news alert about a port strike. Instead of digging through Oracle's supply chain module, they ask the GenUI to "visualize the impact on our Q3 inventory." 

The system instantly renders a custom map and a "what-if" slider tool that lets the user simulate different shipping routes—functionality that might have taken a developer weeks to build as a permanent feature.

For reconciliation or expense audits, instead of a spreadsheet of 10,000 rows, the interface generates a "review card" for the five most suspicious transactions, with integrated buttons to "Approve," "Flag," or "Ask Employee for Receipt."

Creative software such as Adobe can take years to master. In web or UI design (Adobe XD or Figma), a designer can say, "Create a high-fidelity checkout page for a luxury watch brand." The GenUI generates editable layers, buttons, and cascading style sheets. 

Industry	Traditional Barrier	GenUI Disruption
CRM	Manual data management & "Tab Fatigue."	Outcome-based workspaces that appear only when needed.
ERP	Extreme complexity & high training costs.	Natural language translation of business data into simple "Action Cards."
Creative	Technical skill & "Steep Learning Curves."	Intent-driven canvases where the AI handles technical execution.

Traditional software companies built moats by accumulating features over years. But an AI interface can potentially deliver all these capabilities through natural language, collapsing the feature hierarchy that supported tiered pricing models. 

On the other hand, there are cost issues distinct from traditional software as a service, where serving additional users costs almost nothing.

A company providing AI-powered customer service might pay $0.50-$2.00 per complex interaction in application programming interface costs alone. This fundamentally changes unit economics.

Software companies face costs that scale with usage intensity, not just user count. Freemium models become harder to sustain when free users generate actual expenses.

When software products use similar underlying models (Claude, GPT-4 and others), differentiation becomes an issue. Why pay for ten different AI-powered tools when they're all essentially wrappers around the same language model?

So revenue is challenged while costs grow. 

A big question is how much enterprise software value language models can displace. 

As AI models become more capable, users can increasingly go directly to ChatGPT or Claude instead of using specialized vertical applications. 

Software Category	Traditional Revenue Model	AI-Induced Challenge	Potential Adaptation
CRM Systems	Per-seat licensing plus tier-based features (Basic/Pro/Enterprise)	AI can deliver "Enterprise" insights to Basic users; computational costs scale with data analysis	Usage-based pricing on AI features; charge for proprietary data connections and workflows
Project Management	Tiered subscriptions based on team size and features	Natural language interface collapses feature differentiation between tiers	Shift to charging for outcomes (projects delivered, efficiency gains) rather than features
Legal Research	Flat subscription or per-search fees	General LLMs can perform basic legal research; commoditizes core product	Focus on verified, citation-quality results; charge premium for liability/accuracy guarantees
Business Intelligence	Per-user licenses and data volume tiers	AI democratizes analytics; hard to charge more for "advanced" users who just ask better questions	Charge for data integration complexity, governance features, and certified insights rather than analysis capability
Customer Support	Per-agent seat licenses	AI reduces headcount needs (fewer seats sold); usage costs rise with ticket volume	Shift to per-resolution or per-customer pricing; charge for AI training on company data
Writing Tools	Monthly subscription ($10-30)	Directly competes with ChatGPT/Claude at $20/month with broader capabilities	Specialize in specific domains (academic, technical); integrate tightly with existing workflows
Code Editors/IDEs	Freemium or one-time purchase	AI coding assistants add significant per-user compute costs	Usage-based pricing on AI features while keeping base editor affordable
Design Software	Perpetual license or subscription	AI generation features expensive to operate; threatens margins on traditional tools	Separate pricing for generative AI features; charge for commercial usage rights
HR/Recruiting	Per-job-posting or per-hire fees	AI can screen resumes and match candidates, but at compute cost per evaluation	Charge for quality of matches and time-to-hire improvement rather than volume
Email/Productivity	Bundled suite pricing	AI features (smart compose, summarization) add costs that vary dramatically by user	Tiered AI quotas; charge power users more for intensive AI feature usage

Enterprise customers may be more tolerant of usage-based pricing since they're accustomed to paying for value delivered. 

Consumer products face harsher constraints. Users expect fixed, predictable monthly fees and react negatively to usage limits.

The fundamental question remains: as AI capabilities become more uniform and accessible, how do software companies justify premium pricing? The answer likely involves some combination of specialized data, deep workflow integration, reliability guarantees, and human expertise.

Still, these represent a narrower value proposition than the feature-rich software bundles that defined the previous era, some will argue.

If You are Uncomfortable with Paradox and Mystery, You Might be Uncomfortable with Life!

One of the most distinctive habits of Catholic thought is its refusal to resolve complex moral questions by choosing one pole of a tension and rejecting the other. 

Instead, Catholic theology has repeatedly insisted that truth often lies not in eliminating contradictions but in holding opposites together in a higher unity. 

This instinct finds classical expression in coincidentia oppositorum, a term articulated by Nicholas of Cusa in the fifteenth century, but rooted more deeply in patristic theology and ultimately in what Christians believe about the mystery of the incarnation: Christ is both fully God (100 percent) and fully man (100 percent), without confusion or division.

The Christological tension, though seemingly “in the theological weeds,” is a foundational "rubber band." People argued about it, early in the development of the church, for hundreds of years.

Lots of non-Christians might argue “he was a good man, a teacher or a philosopher.” Many would find it scandalous or absurd that he could be “God in human form.” Absurd and scandalous, indeed.

And the source of continual theological dispute for centuries. So ignore the "inside baseball" nature of such debates. If you want insight into Catholic teaching on a host of social issues, coincidentia oppositorum illuminates the principles.

And they are neither simple nor absolute guides to behavior.

"Heresy," or incorrect belief, is "inside baseball" for anybody who does not claim to be a Christian.

On the other hand, as a guide to thinking about hard problems in life, coincidentia oppositorum is invaluable.

Catholic theologians might point out that heresy (from the Greek hairesis, meaning "choice") occurs when someone tries to resolve the tension by "choosing" one side. A "Both-And" thinker views a heretic not necessarily as someone who is 100 percent wrong, but as someone who is partially right at the expense of the whole. By releasing one end of the rubber band, they lose the tension of the divine mystery.

Doctrine	Pole A (The "Human/Earthly")	Pole B (The "Divine/Heavenly")	The Stretched Tension (The "Both-And")
The Incarnation	Fully Human: Jesus felt hunger, wept, and died.	Fully Divine: Jesus is the eternal Word, the Creator.	Hypostatic Union: He is not a hybrid, but one person in two complete natures.
The Bible	Human Authors: Written in specific styles, eras, and languages.	Divine Author: Every word is inspired by the Holy Spirit.	Dual Authorship: God speaks through human instruments without bypassing their humanity.
The Church	Visible Institution: A hierarchy with buildings, laws, and flawed people.	Invisible Mystical Body: A spiritual reality united to Christ.	The Sacrament of Salvation: The visible structure is the "sign" of the invisible grace.
Salvation	Human Effort: We must cooperate, repent, and "run the race."	Divine Grace: Salvation is a free gift we cannot earn.	Synergy: Grace moves the will so that the person can freely act.
Eschatology	Already: The Kingdom of God is here now in the Church.	Not Yet: The Kingdom is a future reality after the Second Coming.	Realized Eschatology: We live in the "in-between" time of the present and the promise.
God's Nature	Immanent: God is closer to us than we are to ourselves.	Transcendent: God is totally "Other," beyond all categories.	The Sacramental Principle: The infinite God is found within the finite world.
Mary	Virgin: Total devotion and purity set apart for God.	Mother: Biological, physical fruitfulness and nurturing.	Virgin-Mother: The paradox of being "Theotokos" (God-bearer).

The practical result is that the answer to many questions is essentially “it’s a mystery.” But the answer to many practical questions also involves maintaining a tension between apparent opposites.

Catholic social teaching does not offer a neat ideology, nor does it map cleanly onto modern political categories of “left” and “right.” 

Instead, it consistently affirms pairs of principles that appear, at first glance, to be in tension: individual dignity and the common good; private property and universal destination of goods; authority and participation; justice and mercy; life’s inviolability and compassion for human weakness.

The "Both-And" approach isn't just a polite way of avoiding a decision; it is a commitment to paradox.

Think of Catholic theology as a stretched rubber band. If you let go of one side to make things "simpler" or "more logical," the rubber band goes limp and loses its power. The energy, or Catholic assertions about  "truth,” exists precisely because of the tension between the two poles.

The result is a body of teaching that frustrates ideological purists but remains remarkably coherent when understood through the lens of coincidentia oppositorum. 

Catholic social doctrine does not split the difference between opposites, nor does it oscillate opportunistically between them. 

Rather, it insists that each pole is incomplete without the other, and that only by holding both together can society approximate the truth about the human person. So “both-and” rather than “either-or.”

A finite human reason sees contradictions because it cannot fully grasp infinite truth. What appear as opposites at the human level coincide at the divine level: so truth often transcends binary logic without dissolving it.

So see so often encounter apparent opposites:

• God is transcendent (beyond or above physical human experience) and yet immanent (present everywhere; internal in things)

• Christ is judge and savior

• The Cross is simultaneously defeat and victory

• The Kingdom is already present and not yet fulfilled

• Jesus is 100 percent human and 100 percent God

• God is infinitely just and infinitely merciful

• Humans are “saved” individually (choice) and yet salvation also is collective (we are different parts of a single body as a metaphor)

• Reality is material and spiritual

• We exist in time, but occasionally, as at the Mass, the eternal (outside of time) meets those within time

• Humans have free will and therefore real agency, but there is also a plan

• Human prayers occur within time, but can operate outside of time and place

• Catholic social theory supports both the right of private property and the right of unions to operate that restrict unrestricted rights of private property

• Work is a commodity exchanged in a market, but also a participation in God’s creative action

• The right of private property coexists with an obligation to share benefits (universal destination of goods)

• Support for economic initiative and entrepreneurship but also social responsibility and solidarity

• Property rights but also the universal destination of goods

• Both subsidiarity (protects personal and local freedom) and solidarity (moral responsibility across social boundaries)

• Absolute defense of unborn life, the disabled, the elderly, and the terminally ill, as human life possesses inviolable dignity from conception to natural death; yet the need for mercy, accompaniment, and compassion

• Moral truth is not negated by compassion, and compassion does not relativize truth

• Mercy (punishment is withheld) does not mean denying sin, but justice (you get what you deserve) does not mean abandoning sinners

• Affirming the legitimacy of law, borders, and social order, while simultaneously insisting that these structures serve the human person, especially the vulnerable

• Social responsibility and personal accountability.

At a polarized time where people seemingly prefer simple answers and absolute alignments, Catholic social teaching remains stubbornly mysterious; a unity of opposites; a refusal to embrace simple “either-or” positions. 

It’s a stretched rubber band.